hello my name is adah i have started this new lifestyle on the 10 of June. i have kinda tested the waters this week. to see what would work for me better low cal or low carbs. i found out really fast low cal is going too work better for me. so far i have lost 3 lb this week. i am sure most of it is water weight but hey 3 lb of it. before this i was just eating what ever and drinking what ever mostly coffee. i have cut the coffee down too 2 cups from 2 pots and drinking water and lots of it. i have been walking everyday. i have been keeping count of everything i eat. i found a program called weight by date pro and i am loving it. i am keeping my calories at 1200. the first couple days wow was hard your body does weird things with out major amounts of caffeine anyway loving this site and this board have found out so much in a short amount of time. cant wait to get to know you all

Welcome aboard, adah! Sounds like you are off to a good start!

May I suggest a small increase in your calorie intake? The reason why I say this, is you want to gradually cut your calories down, so that your body doesn't get used to the same amount. Also, this will prevent your body from going into starvation mode. For your range, you should be taking in 1350 a day. When you reach 174 pounds, cut down to 1300, when you reach 150 then cut back to 1200.

Good luck on your journey to weight loss, and welcome to the Calorie Counters!

thanks that does sound good. and well really i could always eat more veggies. i sure dont want starvation mode.

Adah~

I agree with Steelslady. If you start to low you'll have nowhere to go to when you get to those pesky last few pounds. Myself, I aim for approx 1450 per day and I walk 4-6 miles per week (I lose 2 lbs per week~most weeks.) Everyone's body is different though, so you may need to tweak here and there to find your ideal calorie range.

It sounds like you are doing great so far! Congratulations on cutting back on your coffee (that can be really hard!)

Welcome, and congrats on that great starter weight loss! Probably 2 lbs of it was fat ... sounds like you cut back quite a bit in that first week! Calorie counting is IMHO definitely the best method. It's something you can do for life and will help with maintenance also.